Last Valentine
by Illuminet
Summary: WI/AU. She knows nothing about herself or her past and looks for the man who she sees in her dreams, hoping that he may know something about her. COMPLETE.


Last Valentine

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The characters from the Guilty Gear series are the rightful property of Arc System Works.

:xXx:

'Aria...' She saw him again, a being as elusive as the mist that surrounded him. An ever familiar dream. One that replayed in her subconscious every night. She would stand before him, herself completely bare to him. He would always say that same word, or perhaps a name. A feeling that she didn't recognize but had been becoming fast familiar identifying would sweep her. An ache for his touch and presence.

'Aria...' He would say it again, but his mouth never moved. He would be still, hands dug into the pockets of his long overcoat with a high collar of red. He would walk closer so she could see the more defining features. He wore red. Nearly all red. His overcoat. His collared shirt over red jeans and red boots. Black leather straps covered parts of his clothes, making up the belt that held his jeans and that secured a piece of red metal to his forehead. He would come closer, allowing to peer at his handsome face. One eye of crimson and the other gold would hold her own gaze. His brown hair was long and wildly spiked, swaying with each soundless step he took closer to her.

'Aria...' He was standing right in front of her as she always knew he would, bringing one had covered in a fingerless glove to make contact with her bare back and pull her to him. She felt secure in his embrace. He would use his other hand to tilt her head up so that he may lower his face down to her own. She would close her eyes to feel the small brush of contact when their lips met, but always she would wake up feeling empty that he was not by her side. And so she would wander, looking for that man. The world had been scarred greatly by what many now called a -Merciless Apocalypse-, where a terrifying Gear of unknown origins with Dragon like features attacked with a power greater than anything known. It came and attacked for several days, nearly bringing Humanity on the brink of extinction. Had it not been stopped, the world had been estimated to last only half a year at best before it would have lost all life on it.

"That man...I must find him." She once again began her search about the dusty plains, where life was once bountiful, and combing through the ruins of cities destroyed with the coming of the Gear simply called the -Dragon-. The enormous Gear was even greater in size than any Megadeath class Gear, it's powers made the -Herald of Destruction-, the Commander Gear Justice, seem like an annoying fly. She continued to walk by, trying to sense out any kind of life out here in these desolate places but to no avail. Day in and day out she would wander. She only knew that man, but had no name to identify him and call him by. She just knew him by appearance. She finally made her way to a decrepit little town, one of the few trying to rebuild and reform after the onslaught brought about by the Dragon's fearsome power. It was on a rickety billboard of wood that she saw it: a profile picture of the man she sought. Much to her growing disappointment did she see that name had been scratched up by splintered wood, and a good deal of the paper was charred black at the bottom. An old man sat in a rocking chair outside of his small wood house, smoking from a long pipe.

"Excuse me, sir...do you know that man in the picture?" She went to him and asked, pointing to it. The old man gave a look over and sighing.

"What's a pretty thing like you want with him?" He finally asked. She dared to gain that small bit of hope in her heart.

"Do you know him? His name, or where it is he lives?" She asked, a mask of detachment but her crimson eyes had lighted up ever so slightly. The old man shrugged.

"That pictures is a good fifty years or so old in all honesty. Look more carefully." He said, and she did. Now that her excitement was smite down by his words, she did indeed see it now. Time had warned it down considerably.

"I see...then this man is most likely an old man by now if not dead...sorry for wasting your time." She turned away but he tried to speak with her again.

"Wait, ma'am. Why the interest? Who are you?" He asked. She could not answer him, for she didn't even know. It was out of instinct that she sought the man out, and she lacked all memories including knowing even her own name. The man called her Aria, but was that really her name? She simply kept walking, though the old man took no offense.

"I perhaps saw a ghost pass by this town's outskirts some days ago...that man walked by here...the crazy thing was...he looked exactly the same, despite the amount of years his picture has been on that board. It was a while ago...not sure if it would help much, but he went towards canyons to the southwest." He said, closing his eyes.

"I see...thank you, sir." She bowed her head in a gesture of thanks as she decided to make her way southwest. It took a few days before she finally found the canyon. She stretched her senses, feeling that something was indeed around, though the presence was highly muffled and made it hard for her to track easily and pinpoint. The fog rolled in as she made her way through the canyon, the presence becoming stronger. It was some hours later that she came upon a shadow in the mist. She could hear the crunching of boots as they made contact with the rocky ground. The made their way closer, and she wondered if perhaps it was best to hide first. She heard his voice, a lazy drawl.

"Your here...at last..." She saw him come into view. The man she saw in her dreams.

"It's you...that man." She said. Though his hulking frame could look intimidating, she was not afraid of him because she felt no malice in his presence. He spat out a half spent cigarette and stomped it out with his boot, walking closer.

"That man, you say...you know me then?" He questioned, neck moving from side to side to get the kinks out of it.

"No...but I have seen you. Not physically, but here." She pointed to her head.

"Oh? And what goes on in that head of your's?" He asked, walking steadily closer.

"Nothing really. The environment is the same, and you simply walk. I hear your voice. It calls out for Aria. Is that me? Is that my name?" She asks, daring to hope though she can not figure out why.

"No. That is not your name. That is the name of a ghost who loved a man who was in turn in love with her. The name Frederick...does it ring a bell?" He was almost right in front of her.

"Frederick...? I...no, I don't recall the name...is it your's?" She questioned. He shakes his head.

"No. Like I said...Aria is the name of a ghost from centuries long past, and Frederick was the man she loved and loved her in return." He said, lowering his head to peer down at her.

"Frederick and Aria...then, if I am not her and you are not him, who are we?" She was confused and rightfully so, for the man was not making much sense. In her dreams it was what he called her. Or...did she simply want him to call her that? Did she want the love of a man she did not even know, who's heart was bound to a woman named Aria and vice versa?

"You and me...we ain't them. We are simply things created in their likeness. Frederick made me, and Aria made you." He spoke.

"I've no memory of this. If I were created like you say...shouldn't I have some kind of memory of it? Like yourself. You seem to know about them, but I do not. Why?" She was curious. He sighed.

"It doesn't matter. You are you and I am me." His voice was soft.

"But without any form of memory, be it good or bad...I have nothing." She felt sadness and disappointment in her heart. She wondered why he would not try to explain to her about their pasts, but then she wondered if perhaps he himself did not know all that much either about her after all.

"I'll be by your side. I know you must have been traveling alone for awhile trying to seek me out, and I was trying to do the same with you. But now that our paths have crossed, I'll do my best to fill you with good memories." He placed his hand into at the small of her back, bringing them closer.

"I know nothing about you, though..." Doubt filled her head. Could she really trust someone so secretive? She had wanted to meet this man ever since she saw him in her dreams, but it was so hard to read his intentions, even though he did sound genuine in helping her in some way.

"My name is Sol. And your's..." He paused, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.

"Yes...?" She wanted to know. At least a name.

"...I'll call you Valentine." He lowered his face to her own.

"Valentine...it is a lovely name..." Her gaze was transfixed with his own as their lips brushed, then he deepened the kiss further. He would protect this precious one of his, the last remaining piece of Aria. But he would cast away away those ancient names to have anything to do with them, letting them be buried in the sands of time.

...F I N...

Note: Sort of a WI that might have occurred after the so called Merciless Apocalypse That Man speaks about in GG2. A lot of things are open to interpretation.


End file.
